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The Difficult Bridesmaid
'' The Difficult Bridesmaid ''is the sixth book in the Middle School Experience series. It takes place during Winter Break, and tells the story about Gail being a bridesmaid in her aunt's wedding but also having to deal with her aunt's bratty daughter. Gail Edwards is excited to be a bridesmaid in her aunt's wedding. It's too bad she has to share the role with her sullen Goth cousin, Victoria. Gail tries to get along with her cousin, but Victoria continues to push her limits. Will Gail be able to learn why Victoria is so upset before her aunt ties the knot? Summary Now that school has let out for winter break, Gail is free to carry out her winter plans, which include going ice skating, hanging out with her friends, and being a bridesmaid in her aunt Valerie's wedding. As Gail is relaxing in her room after returning home from school, her mother comes into her room and reminds her that Valerie and her fiance, Greg will be coming to their house tomorrow, where they will stay for a week for their wedding and honeymoon. Their children from different relationships, Keenan and Victoria, will also be visiting, but Gail is less enthused about Victoria's visit and is even less thrilled that she has to share her room with Victoria. Later in the evening, Ellie and Leah come over, where they discuss the wedding, and Gail vents to them about Victoria's visit, and they all agree not to let Victoria's negativity get to her. The following evening, Valerie and her family arrive to the Edwards' house. Valerie, Greg, and Keenan are ecstatic to see Gail and her parents, but Victoria is less than thrilled. After they greet each other, the family goes to the kitchen to eat cookies and drink hot chocolate. While they eat, Valerie and Greg ask Gail about how her sixth grade year is going, but Victoria makes rude and jealous comments about Gail, much to her mother's dismay. Tina suggests that Gail introduce Victoria to her friends, something both girls object to. After they finish eating, Gail brings Victoria's suitcases up to her room. As Victoria unpacks her belongings, Gail notices her cousin's locket, a present that Victoria's father had given to her a long time ago. When Victoria is changing into her pajamas, Gail leaves the room and gets a phone call from Chloe, who invites her to go to the movies with her and some of their friends. Gail goes downstairs to tell her family about her plans, but Tina and Valerie make her bring Victoria along, too. The following day, Gail brings Keenan to the movies, but not Victoria, who doesn't want to go. They have a lot of fun, but when they come home, Tina scolds Gail for not bringing Victoria. The next day, the kids spend the day at home with Valerie, and Gail and Victoria clash about Victoria's untidyness in Gail's room. Later on that day, Tina and Valerie go to a bridal shop to pick up Valerie's wedding dress, and they invite Gail and Victoria (who is forced) with them. At the shop, Valerie tries on her dress. Victoria appears to be nervous about this outing, and utters a rude comment to her mother before storming out of the store. Valerie breaks down in tears and confides to Gail and Tina that Victoria has been acting out since she started dating and eventually got engaged to Greg, that Victoria's father has forced her to be a bridesmaid, and Victoria is cold towards Greg and Keenan; she is afraid that her and Victoria's relationship will never be fixed. After Valerie picks up the dress, the family goes home, and Valerie is cheered up when she sees that Greg has decided to cook dinner for the entire family. Victoria is angered by this and stomps upstairs, and Gail goes after her to confront her towards behavior. Victoria accuses Gail of not knowing the entire story before slamming the door in her face. Things between Gail and Victoria are frostier after their confrontation. The next day, Chloe asks Gail and Keenan if they want to go ice skating with her, Arabella, and Leah. Gail lets her aunt know where she is going, and Valerie pushes her to invite Victoria, and ends up forcing Victoria to go with them, much to Gail's dismay. When Gail's friends arrive, Gail introduces them to Valerie and Greg, and they invite them to their wedding reception, something Victoria is not pleased with. Victoria is rude to Gail's friends during the ride to the skating rink and during the trip, where she has a bad attitude towards everyone there. Leah, Chloe, and Arabella complain to Gail about Victoria's behavior, and Gail vents about how she is sick of Victoria. Unfortunately, Victoria overhears their conversation and pushes Gail before making a scene on the ice, which Gail ends up getting in trouble for. Gail and Victoria become more distant in the following days, but Gail begins to notice that Victoria is unraveling, especially at Valerie and Greg's rehearsal dinner, where she isn't thrilled to see her family members. On the day of the wedding, Gail, Victoria, and their mothers meet the rest of the bridal party at a salon where they will get their hair and makeup done. Valerie asks a hairstylist to wash out the dye in Victoria's hair, and Victoria, who is offended by this, snaps at her and locks herself into the salon's bathroom. Later on, Chloe, Leah, and Arabella visit Gail at the salon to admire her hair and makeup and look at her bridesmaid's dress. Victoria comes out of the bathroom and taunts the girls, unhappy that they are here. When Arabella unintentionally makes a comment about Victoria's locket being from Hot Topic, Victoria snaps at them and accuses them of being sheltered and snotty. Gail, sick of Victoria's behavior, pushes Victoria, who is tightly holding onto her locket, which breaks. Victoria is very upset about this and runs out of the room in tears. Gail picks up a photo that fell out of the broken locket and notices that the person in the photo is Victoria's father, and she begins to feel guilty for her actions. Tina and Valerie find out about the incident, and Tina scolds Gail for her behavior towards Victoria and sends her friends home. Gail snaps at her mom for sympathizing with Victoria, but Tina reassures her that she has seen that Gail is trying her best with Victoria, to no avail. Tina decides that Gail and Victoria need to discuss their issues, and leads Gail to the bathroom, where Victoria has retreated. When talking with Victoria, Gail learns that Victoria has gone Goth to get attention from her mom, whom she feels ignored from. Victoria also reveals that Valerie and her father, Lyle, had briefly gotten back together during her childhood, only to break up and Valerie to shortly get together with Greg later on, and she is afraid of the changes that would come along with Valerie and Greg's marriage, such as moving out of her childhood home and getting a new father figure when she already has one. Gail advises that she speak to her mother about these issues and reassures her that these changes will not negatively impact her life. She also apologizes for breaking her locket, and Victoria forgives her, even though Gail still feels guilty about it. Victoria decides to get a makeover for the wedding by reverting back to her natural hair color and toning down her makeup. The wedding goes on without a hitch--with Victoria stunning everyone with her new look--and Greg and Valerie are finally married. Gail and Victoria are friendlier with each other at the reception. They meet up with Gail's friends, who apologize for not making her feel included and judging her, and Victoria apologizes for her rude behavior. Victoria also speaks to Valerie, Greg, and Lyle (who is also attending the wedding) and they come to an understand and reassure her that they love her and that all these changes are for the better. During the bouquet toss, Victoria catches her mother's bouquet, signaling that she will be the next bride in the family. After the wedding, Greg and Valerie go on their honeymoon in Australia, and Victoria and Keenan stay with Gail and her parents for the rest of winter break. Victoria hangs out with Gail and her friends more. One day, Gail buys a special gift for Victoria at the mall. When they arrive home, they discuss their issues, and Victoria admits that she had been acting cold towards Gail because she was jealous of her life and didn't think she could relate to her family issues. The girls finally bury the hatchet, and Gail presents her with a new locket. Victoria is grateful and ecstatic, and the girls vow to be stronger cousins and friends. Characters (in order of appearance) * Tina Edwards * Gail Edwards * Leah Harrison * Ellie Jackson * Peter Edwards * Valerie Stanley-Richardson * Greg Richardson * Keenan Richardson * Victoria Stanley * Chloe Winters * Arabella Wilson Trivia *This book was rewritten four times. First edition, 2008. Fourth edition, July 2018. *The inspiration for this story came from a "Life With Derek" episode. *Jessie Sanchez and Alex Sanders are mentioned in the story, but don't actually have speaking roles. Category:Stories